# Connor Davis

> Staff Software Engineer

Location: New York, New York, United States
Profile: https://flows.cv/connordavis

Previously: Vercel, Element (Matrix), and additionally co-founded two failed startups (learning a lot in the process). I only connect on LinkedIn with people I have worked with.

Staff Software Engineer with over 8 years of experience developing scalable web applications, contributing to open-source projects, and leading engineering initiatives. Expertise in designing complex systems, cross-functional collaboration, and delivering high-impact solutions. Passionate about community engagement and empowering organizations through technology.

## Work Experience
### Founder @ Project FairGarden
Jan 2023 – Jan 2024 | New York, New York, United States
- Designed a SaaS platform to modernize NYC's volunteer organizations, focusing on accessibility for all users.
- Collaborated with the Manhattan Land Trust to conduct research on operational challenges and engagement barriers.
- Tripled membership for a pilot garden by optimizing recruitment and retention processes.
- Developed tools for membership tracking, volunteer logging, receipt accounting, and organized meetings.
- Ensured accessibility by providing both electronic and paper-based processes.
- Faced sustainability challenges due to limited budgets and extensive support needs of volunteer organizations.

### Senior Software Engineer @ Element
Jan 2022 – Jan 2023
- Developed a GUI from scratch for configuring the Element Server Suite, using Kubernetes CRDs and OpenAPI schemas.
- Created a dynamic configuration framework enabling runtime schema fetching and UI rendering.
- Enhanced security with options referencing Kubernetes secrets for secure storage separate from plain-text configuration.
- Facilitated cross-team collaboration by allowing schema updates without UI code changes.
- Contributed to the LTS product version, improving stability for enterprise clients.

### Staff Software Engineer @ Vercel
Jan 2019 – Jan 2022 | Remote
- Early team member hired to help maintain Next.js; among the first 20 employees at Vercel.
- Collaborated with the Google Chrome team to advance web technologies, specifically intelligent dependency chunking.
- Enhanced Next.js on Vercel by pioneering dynamic filesystem routes and distributed routing configurations.
- Led the Proxy team, managing the reverse proxy deployed across 16 global regions supported by the infrastructure team.
- Maintained global HTTP servers, handling over 100 billion requests monthy (~40,000 req/s) and mitigating DDoS attacks.
- Developed the proprietary router used by Next.js and other frameworks on Vercel; helped specify the Build Output API.
- Co-authored multiple Next.js releases (versions 8–12), contributing to server-side implementations and specifications.
- Led security initiatives: CSP support, secure cookies, HSTS preloading, public suffix list, and cross-origin SSO protection.
- Implemented Edge Middleware and Edge Functions, enabling response streaming and programmatic routing at the edge.
- Worked with the AWS Lambda team to specify response streaming for the eventual use of React Server Components.
- Optimized TLS configurations, enabled regional TLS session resumption, TLS 1.3, and zero-roundtrip handshakes.
- Presented at hackathons in New York, Toronto, and D.C., conducting workshops on Next.js for aspiring developers.

### Software Developer @ Self-employed
Jan 2015 – Jan 2018

### Software Architect @ Authenitech
Jan 2017 – Jan 2018
I created an authenticity platform hosted on the cloud. The database was specifically designed to be audit-able and immutable. Data was validated through a reasonable chain of trust that allowed for both paper and online processing. At any point in time an audit could be run that would validate all the data for a specific serial number.

### Co-Founder @ Red Panda Solutions
Jan 2016 – Jan 2017
- Provided custom Kubernetes hosting solutions for Flarum forum software.
- Built a bare-metal cluster with 5 nodes totaling 360 CPU cores.
- Developed a seamless deployment service for immutable containers via the Kubernetes API.
- Implemented zero-downtime deployments with pre-production testing.
- Addressed challenges due to upstream software remaining in beta, affecting enterprise adoption.

### Web Developer @ Growth Circle
Jan 2016 – Jan 2017 | Remote
- Developed a custom forum system on Flarum for a high-traffic stock market site.
- Enabled dynamic stock mentions linking to related forum topics.
- Integrated widgets displaying stocks to watch and featured articles.


## Contact & Social
- LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/connordav-is

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Source: https://flows.cv/connordavis
JSON Resume: https://flows.cv/connordavis/resume.json
Last updated: 2026-03-23